Despite still being rare for a superhero film to make a billion dollars, Deadpool & Wolverine doing that for Henry Cavill makes the film’s in-joke funnier. Early in the film as Deadpool searches for a new “anchor being” Wolverine, he visits various realities with Hugh Jackman playing Logan variants. However, in one of those realities he finds a very yoked up man working on a motorcycle with a distinctive haircut. Deadpool notes the man “looks like Henry Cavill” as the actor turns to reveal he’s also playing a Wolverine variant.
As far back as 2020, Henry Cavill was fan-cast as Wolverine, since Hugh Jackman apparently hung up the claws with Logan. After last playing Superman in the post-credits scene of the box-office-flop Black Adam, Cavill went through a second roller-coaster ride with Kal-El. He announced his return to the role for a new film just weeks before Warner Bros. Discovery fired everyone at DC Films and brought in James Gunn and Peter Safran to run the newly minted DC Studios. It began their tenure with a public relations disaster when Cavill again lost the Superman role in favor of David Corenswet.
In Deadpool & Wolverine Wade Wilson simply “geeks out” over Cavill as Wolverine. Deadpool tells the Cavillrine that seeing him as Logan “just feels right.” He then goes on to say that Marvel Studios “will treat you better than” the studio “down the street,” obviously meaning Warner Bros. After all, Reynolds turn as Green Lantern has been a source of many DC-focused jabs in the Deadpool films. Since all the dialogue is about how Cavill working with Marvel Studios would be better than his time at DC, Deadpool & Wolverine earning $1 billion is just icing on that fourth-wall-breaking cake.
The Importance of Billion-Dollar Movies in the Streaming Era
Once David Corenswet debuts his Kal-El in Superman, audiences will be able to reevaluate Cavill’s time in the tights. In fact, Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman started rehabilitating that era of DC comics storytelling. Cavill’s Superman was a unique take on the character, and one that might be better appreciated once Superman purists see their idyllic hero on the big screen again. So, even though Henry Cavill never appeared in a billion-dollar movie as Superman, that’s not what will help audiences revisit the character. Henry Cavill’s Superman redemption will happen on streaming.
Beyond just earning back exorbitant budgets, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s billion-dollar box office is a signal to the industry about what audiences want. Just a year ago, the conventional wisdom was that Marvel oversaturated the market with multiverse nonsense. So, Deadpool & Wolverine is their only 2024 movie, and audiences flocked to see Hugh Jackman, other returning stars and multiverse nonsense. This shows that Marvel still has the ability to earn big returns for Disney, and that audiences weren’t willing to wait for streaming to see Hugh Jackman back in action.
Still, streaming is here to stay. The economic concerns for audiences, not “superhero fatigue” are why box office returns no longer tell the full story. Franchise films like The Flash, The Marvels and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny didn’t earn big box office numbers but did very well on streaming. So, whether Henry Cavill gets a boost from Deadpool & Wolverine earning a billion dollars or not, his Superman will reach new audiences on streaming as long as it’s available to watch.
Man of Steel is available to own on DVD, Blu-ray, digital and streams exclusively on Max, and Deadpool & Wolverine is currently in theaters.
